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Thursday, September 23, 2010

Today's note is getting to you so much later than I was hoping it would. Had a full day of sitting in traffic on the way from Boston to New York. But I can't complain. We had a fun time of playing 90's playlist in the van with our iPods. It was a combination of things we were listening to on repeat alone in our bedrooms and everything that was on the radio and MTV. (I know it's an overstated complaint, but hey—remember the days when MTV played videos? I think the 90's were the decade when they slid past the 50% mark.)

Here's a hot selection of some picks we hit: Nirvana, Bjork, Weezer, Blur, NIN, Tool, Beck, the Breeders, Pearl Jam (Vs. is the first CD I ever bought when I was 13, along with a cassingle—how I miss the cassingle!—of Janet Jackson's "Again"), the Cranberries, Smashing Pumpkins, and My Bloody Valentine. We had some really good (and surprising) things handy in our iPods, things some people might want to be filed under "embarrassing picks." But what the hell. I don't believe in being embarrassed about music you like, or once liked, or once hated but have found a soft spot for because it reminds you of a certain time or person or something you can't quite put your finger on, but are glad to have in your back pocket of experiences.

Here are some bands we discussed, but missed out on either because our iPods were missing some serious links or because we got out of traffic before we could finish our 90's love fest: Operation Ivy, PJ Harvey (I could not get enough of Rid of Me and still regret not buying a "50 Foot Queenie" 7" from a small record shop in Frederick, Maryland, when I was 15), L7, Tori Amos, Portishead, Crash Test Dummies, the Pixies, the Verve and a whole heap of 90's R&B that I've been craving like mad recently. (Where's my Diamonds and Pearls-era Prince, PM Dawn, En Vogue, SWV, Boyz II Men—and on and on?)

All in all, we really just scratched the surface. If we had more time, we'd get deep into our psyches and memories and pull out some really great picks—I'll call them "bedroom picks" (as in, these are the bands that somehow knew my every single thought when I was in high school—or middle school, as was the case with the baby of the band). Who were your favorites in those formative years? God, I have so many memories directly tied to songs. All kindsa trouble I've gotten into (or narrowly escaped) that wouldn't be the same without being tied to a song in my memory. Put on Portishead or My Bloody Valentine, and I'm 15 all over again, having a really amazing time making mistakes that I only got to make once. It's hell to grow up and get less fearless as the years go by.

Speaking of the 90's and songs being tied to memories, I'm happy to have a night off in New York and a ticket to see Pavement in Central Park. My friend Amanda said she just saw them on Tuesday and relived her entire teen years—every boyfriend and crazy teen-hood memory—in the span of a single set. I'm so looking forward to having that happen for me tonight.